The war against Midian

Found 11 Search results

  1. The Inauguration

    Rabbi Yair Kahn

    This lesson discusses two issues: 1. The significance of the Midian War in light of the detailed description of the loot gathered after the battle; 2. The reason half the tribe of Menashe was added to Gad and Reuven, after they requested land on the eastern side of the Jordan (the Transjordan).

  2. Divine Command and Human Initiative OR Why Does Matot Begin With the Laws of Women's Vows?

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    The sin of Baal Peor, Pinchas’s act, and the commandment to battle Midian – are separated from the actual Midian War by six seemingly unrelated episodes: The census; Zelophehad’s daughters; God’s command that Moshe should go up to Har ha-Avarim; the appointment of Yehoshua; the supplementary (musaf) sacrifices; and the vows of woman and girls. These six episodes can be divided into three pairs, with one common theme: the tension between human initiative and Divine command. The episodes can all be linked to the sin of Baal Peor, and this tension is prevalent in the Midian War as well.

  3. Moshe and Midyan

    Rabbi Ezra Bick

    The war against Midian is described while Bnei Yisrael are preparing to enter the land, while the logical placement of the story is immediately after the story of Ba'al Pe'or. This lesson will explore the significance of this episode in its present context, and its significance to the leadership tasks assigned to Moshe.

  4. Why Kill Midyan and Spare Moav?

    Ramban on Parshat Pinchas

    Rabbi Ezra Bick | 37 minutes

    God tell Moshe to fight the Midianites, but the sin of Ba’al Pe’or occurred with the daughters of Moav. Furthermore, God specifically says not to attack Moav! Ramban considers and critically evaluates varying approaches: Is the sin of planning and concocting worse than carrying something out- were the Midians merely using the Moavite women as their weapon of choice? Was Moav to be saved because of future righteous descendants? Was motivation a factor- Moav involved out of fear, and Midian out of malice? Is there a difference between attacking borders and attacking people’s souls? Is God’s exclusion of Moav related to this story, or to the covenant between Lot and Avraham?

  5. The Second Census

    Rabbi Yair Kahn

    The beginning of our parasha contains a rare scriptural phenomenon known as a "pesik be-emtza pasuk" – a break in the middle of a verse.  In the Torah scroll, there is a space between the beginning of verse 26:1, "When the plague was over," and the continuation of the pasuk, "Hashem said to Moshe and to Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen."

    This abrupt break itself demands an explanation, but the difficulty is compounded when we take a closer look at the context of this verse, that seemingly digresses from the general theme of the war with Midian. Suddenly, we find a thematic digression as the Torah introduces the recounting of Bnei Yisrael, the incident of the daughters of Tzelofchad, and the appointment of Yehoshua. This is followed by two halakhic sections, a lengthy description of communal sacrifices and a brief section dealing with personal vows. Finally, the Torah returns to the campaign against Midian and repeats the command to attack. Why is the command to attack Midian repeated? What is the meaning of this digression? Why was it necessary for the Torah to insert this entire section into such an inappropriate location? What is the connection between these sections to Sefer Bamidbar, and with the war against Midian?

  6. Parshat Mattot - War Ethics

    Rabbi Alex Israel | 37 minutes

    Parashat Mattot presents us with considerable challenges. Much of it is very technical in nature, and seems to contain three distinct, seemingly disconnected chapters: Chapter 30 discusses laws of vows, chapter 31 deals with the war against the Midianites and the spoils from the war, and chapter 32 narrates the request and plan for the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and Menashe to act as shock-troops and then settle land on the eastern side of the Jordan.

    Our focus in this shiur is the equal division of the spoils of war, which ultimately connect the three chapters of this parasha. Why does Judaism devote so much energy to this topic? Why do we need organized legal arrangements about the spoils of vanquished enemies? We explore ethical, tactical, and theological approaches to this question.

  7. What's Wrong with Taking Spoils?

    Rabbi Alex Israel

  8. Moshe and Midyan (Audio)

    Rabbi Ezra Bick | 17 minutes

    The war against Midian is described while Bnei Yisrael are preparing to enter the land, while the logical placement of the story is immediately after the story of Ba'al Pe'or. This lesson will explore the significance of this episode in its present context, and its significance to the leadership tasks assigned to Moshe.

  9. Parshat Matot - The Inauguration

    Rabbi Yair Kahn

    תאריך פרסום: תשע"ו | | 12 minutes

    Parshat Matot contains numerous, seemingly superfluous details surrounding the battle with Midian and the two and a half tribes who settled east of the Jordan. How do these details contribute to the theme of Israel becoming a cohesive whole prior to the nation's entry into the land?

  10. Delegating the War with Midyan

    Rabbi David Silverberg

  11. Shoftim 7-8

    Matan Al Haperek

    Matan Al HaPerek - Neta Shapira

    These perakim describe Gidon’s war against the Midianites, the participation of the various tribes in the war, and the relationship Gidon has with them. The brilliant victory in battle removes what had been a national threat to Israel for many years. In addition, Gidon’s leadership causes the people of Israel to express, for the first time, their desire for a king.